BEING THE VOICE of the Masters for two decades is both a tribute and an indictment of CBS’ Jim Nantz.

Nantz provides passion, precision and probing questions, but he does it all too reverentially – even if the Masters is a “tradition unlike any other.”

Among network sportscasting’s Big Four – Bob Costas, Al Michaels and Joe Buck are the other three – Nantz is the coziest with his signature event.

For 20 years, Nantz has delicately tapdanced around the Augusta sand traps that have claimed Jack Whitaker and Gary McCord. He has never referred to a crowd as a “mob,” as Whitaker once did, or to the greens as smooth as a “bikini wax,” as McCord said.

With Mickelson and Singh paired together for yesterday’s final round, Nantz called Friday’s disagreement a “little exchange.”

Nantz failed to mention that the two don’t like each other, as evidenced by an interview on HBO’s Real Sports in which Singh basically told Bryant Gumbel that he thinks Mickelson is a phony. Why would Nantz play down such animosity? He seems to be caddying for both players.

On WFAN’s Mike & the Mad Dog show Friday, Nantz defended Singh’s public image, saying he knows him very well. Nantz said Singh is “misunderstood,” and called him an “incredibly honorable man.”

As for Mickelson, the lefty last year gave Nantz a Master’s flag that read “JIM, THANKS FOR ALWAYS BELIEVING – PHIL,” according to Sports Illustrated.

“It was pretty special,” Nantz told the magazine.

That relationship is too close.

Still, when play moves to 18 late on a Sunday in April, you want Nantz there. He finds the right words to capture the historic moment. Last year, he perfectly set up Mickelson’s winning putt by saying, “Is it his time? Yes! At long last!”

As the evening drew to a close yesterday, you anticipated his final call.

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More Masters: Unlike a certain cable network (hint: its initials are ESPN), CBS chose wisely not to emphasize that this weekend was its 50th straight Masters. Just having Pat Summerall do some voice-overs was the classy approach. Sean McManus, the president of CBS Sports, said it was the network’s choice, not Augusta’s, to handle the anniversary in this fashion.

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Monday on WFAN, Chris Russo and Mike Francesa just laughed and laughed at Willie Randolph’s expense. Following the Mets’ ninth inning Opening Day loss, Francesa and Russo listened to parts of Randolph’s post-game press conference. In one clip, Randolph said of his first day as a big-league manager, “It was a great day.”

Unfairly, WFAN cut the soundbite down to just the “great day” part, allowing Francesa and Russo to play it over and over again while ridiculing Randolph for uttering it after such an excruciating loss. On Wednesday, during

Randolph’s weekly spot on their show, however, neither saw fit to bring it up.

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Kenny Albert will do six Nationals games for Washington’s Fox affiliate in the next two weeks with ex-Met Ron Darling. Albert is just doing them until Nationals play-byplayer, Mel Proctor, is finished with his Clippers’ duties. Darling is the Nationals’ regular analyst.

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During the Mets’ first win of the season yesterday, Ch. 11’s Dave O’Brien offered an accurate and funny call for Carlos Beltran’s go-ahead eighth-inning two-run homer: “Believe it or not, the New York Mets have the lead – for the first time since the ninth inning on Opening Day.”

Fox Sports Net’s Best Damn Sports Show Period’s hiring of Rob Dibble seems like the perfect match. It gives viewers one more reason not to watch the show.